A unique site focused on women's lifestyle and preventative cardiovascular health. From a female physician's point of view, I'll offer useful tips, tricks and information (as well as a little humor) to keep women heart healthy!

Friday, March 28, 2014

I have noticed an on-going trend with my patients. A lot of times, they swear that they are eating healthy, but when you really begin to delve into a person's eating habits, you can find some pretty scary calories lurking where you may not know they exist.

One example is my patient who "forgot" that she snacks on cheese and crackers with her glass of wine nightly. Breakfast-good. Lunch- good. Her dinner was so-so...but the snack BEFORE dinner was loaded with calories. Because, let's face it folks, you do not just have one or two pieces of cheese and crackers...you have 20. Be honest.

mmm....Veggie Juice!

Also, I know that "juicing" is the big thing now. AWESOME. I am all for it. But let me make myself extraordinarily clear...juicing at home is WAY different then picking up a smoothie from the local smoothie joint! First of all, the best juices are at least half veggie juice and have no added sugar. Most smoothies from your favorite chain have added cane sugar or syrup. A lot of times, they will advertise "all-natural agave syrup". Okay, great. All-natural. Sugar packed? Yep! Your typical smoothie from any chain store has approximately 50 grams of sugar. Seriously.

Now, let's talk about yogurt. I love yogurt. LOVE IT!! BUT...and that's a big BUT...I always eat a Greek yogurt that has a lot of protein too. Why? Because both kinds (plain, non-Greek and Greek) do have a lot of sugar. The only way for me to stay full is to have a breakfast with protein, and let's face it, the regular yogurt is all sugar and no protein.

Watch out for these hidden calories!!

Extras. I will tell you, hands down, that if someone is "watching" their weight, the biggest downfall they have is not knowing how many calories are in the crap that they add to their food. Number 1 enemy? Salad dressing. Look at your dressing label. Compare caesar and ranch to balsamic vinegar. Typically the former have at least 50% more calories (and usually fat, too!) than the latter. Ketchup is another culprit. Did you know that 1 teaspoon...not tablespoon...teaspoon....of ketchup has 15 calories and about 4 grams of sugar? Now, think...how many teaspoons do you put on your burger, fries or hot dog? (Actually, why are you eating that stuff anyway?!)

To keep it simple, do a calorie log. Do it for a few days. Do not change anything you typically eat. But just write it down and look up by the box or by google how many calories you are eating each day...it may (and likely will!) surprise you!